The National Employment Law Project (NELP) has created the guide, Criminal Background Checks: A Best Practices Guide for Employers to help HR departments save time and money and create a larger pool of qualified candidates. NELP advises employers to: carefully survey positions to determine which require a background check to avoid unnecessary costs; do not inquire into criminal history on the initial application; include notice on your job application that a conviction is not an automatic bar to employment; do not ask about or consider arrest records; comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act requirements by providing notice and obtaining worker consent, giving the applicant a copy of the background report prior to any rejection and allowing the applicant to correct information; only consider convictions that are both job-related and recent; consider the circumstances of the offense and any evidence of rehabilitation; give the applicant a written notice of the potentially disqualifying conviction(s) and allow the applicant to provide information regarding the offense(s), including evidence of rehabilitation.
